Competitions

Roar beaten by Wanderers

Brisbane Roar have gone down to the Western Sydney Wanderers in their first game of 2018 at Suncorp Stadium on Friday night.

In front of an 11,198-strong crowd, the Roar fell behind late in the first-half after Spaniard Oriol Riera and Mark Bridge handed the visitors a two-goal lead, which they held until the final whistle.

Brisbane controlled the majority of the first half, creating a number of clear-cut chances and Head Coach John Aloisi was disappointed his side didn't get more out of a strong opening 45 minutes.

"We were in total control in the first-half. Even with a lot of players out, I’m disappointed because we should have won the game based on the way we were playing in the first half," Aloisi said.

"We gave away a couple of poor goals and we have to make sure we learn from those errors."

Jamie Young made a number of crucial saves in the second-half, as did Vedran Janjetovic at the other end of the park, most notably denying a wicked strike Corey Gameiro.

The Roar have a short turnaround to the next game with defending champions Sydney FC travelling to Suncorp Stadium on Monday night (6:50pm KO).Tickets availableHERE.

STORY OF THE GAME

The Roar dominated first-half possession and carved a number of solid chances, including one which was dubiously denied by the offside flag.

The Wanderers struck twice in the final 10 minutes of the first-half to take a two-goal lead into the break

The Roar's best chance fell to Corey Gameiro in the 62nd minute with the striker desperately unlucky to not find the back of the net, with a fine save from Vedran Janjetovic denying him.

Teenage attacker Daniel Leck earned more Hyundai A-League minutes, coming on in place of Petros Skapetis partway through the second period.

GOALS

Western Sydney Wanderers – Riera 29’; 0-1
Jamie Young does well to palm away Brendon Santalab’s glancing header, but the parry finds its way to Oriol Riera, who is perfectly placed to convert the rebound with a simple tap-in.

Western Sydney Wanderers – Bridge 45’; 0-2
In the dying minutes of the first half, the visitors extend their lead after a deflection from Riera pinballs to Mark Bridge, and the Wanderers' forward makes no mistake as he drives the ball into the bottom corner.